University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
UL Seeks to Continue CAJUNDOME Streaks
2/21/2009 6:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GAME CENTER
Date: Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009
Location: Lafayette, La.
Opponent: New Orleans (11-16, 6-10 Sun Belt)
Site: CAJUNDOME (11,550)
Game Time: 7:15 p.m., or 30 minutes following the completion of women's game
Live Stats/Video: www.RaginCajuns.com
Radio: SportsRadio ESPN 1420 AM (KPEL), 107.9 FM (KRKA)
Game Night Story Lines
● Louisiana begins the final week of the 2008-09 regular season on Sunday, Feb. 22 as the squad hosts Interstate 10-rival New Orleans.
● Sunday's game is the first of three this week for the Ragin' Cajuns. UL faces Troy on Thursday in the home finale and then visits UALR on Saturday for the season finale.
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● The home team has won the last 10 games UL was involved in. Last visiting team to win was UALR on Jan. 15 at the CAJUNDOME.
● The Cajuns averaged 9.5 three-pointers made per game the last four games held at the CAJUNDOME.
● UL's defense has held the opposition below 60 points the last two games. The Cajuns limited
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IMPROVED FREE THROW SHOOTING
● UL has shot 124-of-167 (74 percent) from the charity stripe in the last nine games. That has helped raise the season percentage from 61% to 66%.
BACK TO BLOCKING SHOTS
● Tyren Johnson has blocked at least one shot in each of the last six games.
● He has 36 blocks this season ? a personal best ? and is only five from the single-season Top 10 charts.
CLOSE CALLS
● The last three games have been decided by exactly four points (UL 1-2 during stretch).
THE 500 CLUB
● Chris Gradnigo reached 500 career points at Florida Atlantic. Now two other Cajuns are in the neighborhood of 500 career points.
● Travis Bureau (463) is 37 shy of 500. Randell Daigle (447) is 53 away.
THE TRIPLE THREAT
● The combination of Travis Bureau, Randell Daigle and Chris Gradnigo fuel the
● They combine to average 37.4 points of the Cajuns' 66.4 average (56%).
● They combine for 134 three-point field goals made out of UL's 187 (72%).
● Overall shooting percentages: Gradnigo (44.7%), Bureau (43.3%), Daigle (39.2%).
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● Travis Bureau tied his season-and career-highs in rebounds with seven.
● Chris Gradnigo was held to four points on 1-of-3 shooting. He and Tyren Johnson both fouled out by the 7:39 mark of the second half.
● DU shot above 50 percent the entire game and attempted only 30 field goals.
● Randell Daigle scored 12 points ? his third straight game in double figures.
● Courtney Wallace made all three of his field goal attempts, upping his season shooting percentage to 64.9 percent (24-of-37).
● Ryan McCoy played 36 minutes, his most in regulation this season.
LAST TIME VS.
● Trailing 30-26 with 16:57 in the second half, Travis Bureau scored five points by himself by the 15:46 mark to pull
● Then beginning at the 11:44 mark Ryan McCoy and Randell Daigle combined to score the Ragin' Cajuns' next 17 points which erased a 37-36 UNO lead. At the 6:35 mark Daigle moved UL up by eight points, 51-43, with a jumper.
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● Ryan McCoy hit a layup with 10 seconds left as he was fouled to make it 59-58. He would miss the free throw and the Privateers grabbed the defensive rebound.
LAST TIME VS.
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● Clinging to a one-point lead, 56-55, Randell Daigle delivered a pair of daggers to the Privateers, draining back-to-back triples for a 62-55 lead with 52 seconds left to play.
● Then, a pair of technical fouls called on James Parlow put Daigle at the free throw. The sophomore calmly drained all four freebies for a 66-57 lead.
● The Privateers built a 12-point cushion, 24-12, with six minutes left to play in the first half on a Parlow triple in transition.
● After UNO extended its lead to 36-23 in the early stages of the second half, UL responded with a quick 6-0 run.
BY THE NUMBERS
1 -
3 - The margin of victory in the first meeting this season between UL and UNO (UNO 61-58)
4th - In Sun Belt games, the Cajuns rank second in the league in 3-point field goals made (7.33 pg)
5-7 -
11 -
● The Cajuns have won 20 of the last 26 meetings between the storied rivals. That has helped
● Louisiana holds a 14-11 margin over UNO in games at the CAJUNDOME and has won the last 11 meetings in
● When UL won 60-53 on Jan. 23, 2006 it gave the Cajuns a 31-30 series lead ? the first lead for the Cajuns in the series since Feb. 18, 1988, when the Cajuns led 9-8.
● The series began on March 2, 1971, with a 113-107 Cajuns victory in the NCAA College Division South Regional. It resumed in 1981 and has continued each year since.
● Louisiana has played six overtime contests with UNO - the most against any SBC school.
TOURNEY TALK
● Louisiana is currently holding eighth (8th) place in overall Sun Belt standings which determine seeding for the conference's postseason tournament. UL is in a tie with FIU for eighth place (Cajuns own head-to-head tiebreaker).
● Seeds four through eight host first round games. As of today, Louisiana (No. 8) is still in position to host.
● The Cajuns trail South Alabama (9-7 SBC) by 2-1/2 games for fifth (5th) place and Middle Tennessee (8-7 SBC) by two games for sixth (6th) place. Louisiana is one game behind Denver (7-8 SBC) for seventh (7th) place.
● The Cajuns are in a precarious position. While they are only two games out of sixth place, they are also only one game ahead of 12th place ULM (5-10 SBC).
● The loss to ULM last Thursday eliminated UL from the possiblity of receiving a bye in the first round of the SBC Tournament. The highest the Cajuns can finish is fifth (5th), which is currently occupied by South Alabama (9-7 SBC). The Cajuns trail Middle Tennessee (8-7) by two games for sixth place, but would have to win out and have MT lose out to claim No. 6 (MT owns tiebreaker).
● The next UL loss or South Alabama win will eliminate the Cajuns from the No. 5 seed. The next UL loss or Middle Tennessee win will eliminate the Cajuns from the No. 6 seed.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
It's Senior Night on Thursday, Feb. 26 as Louisiana honors senior Emmanuel Adeife before tipoff with Troy. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The game will serve as the regular season home finale. UL defeated Troy 83-81 in Troy on Jan. 10 in the season's earlier meeting. The Trojans went on to win 10 straight after the loss to the Cajuns.
Following the game with Troy, the Ragin' Cajuns travel to Little Rock, Ark., to face Sun Belt West Division leader UALR at The Jack Stephens Center. The game is set for 7 p.m., and is part of a doubleheader with the UL-UALR women's teams. UALR rallied in the second half from 15 down to steal a win from the Cajuns on Jan. 15 in the CAJUNDOME. The Trojans won 79-71 in overtime.
